肇論疏 2.43

2.43

The letter has three sections: first, the exchange of greetings; second, the formal presentation of questions; and third, the concluding summary. Here is the first section. The text of the greetings contains several passages, but taken together they form a single section. As for "bowing in respect" (henan), this is a foreign expression of respect. "Recently having received your glorious renown, I have harboured longings from afar": "recently" (qing) means in a short while, referring to lately. "Received" (can) means hearing it with one's ears, just as one partakes of food. "Glorious" (hui) means fine. "Renown" (wen) means fame; although written with the character wen ("to hear"), it is pronounced in the departing tone (wen, "reputation"). Having heard your fine reputation and longing from afar in his heart to meet, he therefore says "longings from afar" (yaozhu). Zhu means waiting. "Words and messages being blocked and separated, this only increases what I harbour within": at that time, the south was the Jin and the north was the Qin; since the two states had no communication, letters were difficult to receive. Conveying and sending what was harboured within increased what was stored up. From "Your disciple's lingering illness" down: some editions have the character zhen ("bedridden"), which is also acceptable. Here, on account of lingering illness and disease, he was among the grasses and marshes. Zhai is likewise an illness. From "Taking advantage of the śramaṇa Huiming's journey north" down: this refers to the śramaṇa Huiming having previously gone north to deliver letters. From "The ancients did not, because of physical distance, let feelings grow cold" down: although bodies may be separated and distant, feelings do not become slight; when understanding and insight are aligned, they are close. As for "the ancients": the Shishuo [xinyu] says that when Ji Kang and Lü An briefly thought of each other, they would order their carriages across a thousand li. Once An sought Kang and Kang was not at home, but he met Ji Xi. Xi invited An to stay, but An did not comply; he simply wrote the character feng ("phoenix") on the gate. In ancient script, the character feng had "bird" inside "common" (fan), meaning that Xi was an ordinary bird, and therefore he did not enter. From "Therefore, although rivers and mountains are vast and remote, and we cannot meet face to face this year" down: "vast and remote" (youmiao) both mean distant. "Cannot meet face to face this year" means not facing each other in the present year. "Yearning for your refined style": this means harbouring admiration for Master Sengzhao's stylistic flair and theoretical profundity. "Mirroring my mind in your image and traces": this means mirroring his mind in Master Sengzhao's Bore wuzhi lun, the treatise being like Master Sengzhao's image and traces. Zhu means waiting. Yue means rejoicing. Qin means toil. Liang means truly. "Distant and without means, looking at the clouds and mist with a long sigh": mian means distant. North and south being cut off, there being no means to meet, he looks toward the clouds and mist and sighs deeply. Some editions have the characters xiayuan ("far off"), but they are not as good as the characters yunxia ("clouds and mist"). "Caring for and respecting yourself according to the seasons": following the four seasons, to love oneself and respect oneself. "Hoping that travellers will bring inquiries": ji means hoping. The commentary on the Zuozhuan says: "travellers" (xingli) means messengers. Some say: in ancient times characters were few, so the character li ("plum") was used for lu ("treading/footwear"), and this has been handed down without change to the present day. Li is just lu, and lu refers to human trust and letters being carried back and forth on foot. Hoping to receive letters and inquiries, he therefore says "bring inquiries". "Humbly wishing that the great assembly there is in good health and harmony": kang means happiness. "And that the foreign Dharma master always enjoys tranquil well-being": this refers to Master Kumārajīva. Xiu means tranquil prosperity, and na means internal; this comes from Zheng Xuan's commentary on the Shijing. "A person of superior standing, with a single vessel of awakened insight, encountering these profound dialogues": gou means to encounter. Some editions have gou ("to construct"), meaning to build. "Person of superior standing" refers to Master Sengzhao. "Vessel" refers to talent and capacity. Awakening and bringing understanding to light is why it says "awakened insight". The questions and answers are profound and mysterious, hence called "profound dialogues". "I imagine that the merit of your thorough investigation is sufficient to exhaust more than half of [our] deliberations": the Erya says: jiu means to exhaust. The "Xici" of the Zhouyi says: "When the wise observe its judgment (tuan) statements, more than half of their thoughts will be grasped." The reason is that tuan means to judge; judging the good or ill fortune of a hexagram is why it is called tuan. Investigating the Yi's judgment statements, one's contemplation and understanding of the Way of the Changes exceeds half. Here it means that this treatise's opening and investigating the meaning of prajñā exceeds half, just as the judgment statements open up the Way of the Changes. "Therefore, whenever I reflect on our separation, how deep is my frustration and shame!": because Master Sengzhao was able to thus unfold and investigate the principle of prajñā, he always wished to meet him; reflecting on the separation between north and south, how deep are the frustration, knot of feelings, and shameful sighs he harboured! "Ever more rigorous": li means strict and solemn. "Solemn and dignified" (xunxun mumu): the Erya says: xunxun means trembling with respect. The Guangya says: xunxun means reverent. Wang Su's commentary on the Lunyu says: xunxun describes being warm and respectful. Mumu means harmonious and compliant. "Long-cherished aspiration": his original intention was to seek reclusion, and now following his original aim, it is therefore said to be "fulfilled". "Highest model": gui is a carriage track. Gui is glossed as standard or model. Broadly speaking, the Buddhadharma is the highest model; it can also specifically refer to the rules and conduct of the virtuous assembly at Mount Lu. "The sincerity of my relying devotion is engraved as brightly as the sun and moon": being moved by thoughts of Master Huiyuan and entrusting himself to the Buddhadharma, his utmost sincerity is as manifest as the sun and moon. As for "engraved" (ming), it means to inscribe and remember. Some say ming is glossed as bright (ming), meaning his sincerity is already as bright as the sun and moon. "Master Huiyuan has recently always walked in well-being": "walked" means experiencing auspicious well-being. "His meditative practice is refined and advanced": his mental contemplation and refined practice have advanced. Yi means to advance. "Vigilant from dawn to dusk": the text of the nine-in-the-third line of the Qian hexagram in the Zhouyi says: "The noble person is vigilant all day long, and in the evening remains cautious as if in peril." Here this phrasing is used, meaning he is diligent night and day. "Unless the function of the Way flowed secretly and principle governed his spirit": the Shuowen says: yu means driving horses. The Shangshu says: yu means to govern. Examining the term, riding horses is called yu, and in the classics and histories "driving horses" is written with the character yu with the horse radical. Because Master Huiyuan allowed the function of the Way to flow secretly within his mind, and used principle to govern his mental spirit, he was able to be thus. From "Who, past the age of compliance" down: shu means who. Who means how. "Past the age of compliance" refers to sixty years and older. The Lunyu says: "At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty I took my stand; at forty I had no doubts; at fifty I knew the decrees of Heaven; at sixty my ear was compliant; at seventy I could follow my heart's desires without overstepping the bounds." For an elderly person over sixty, his spirit is so serene, and he is so diligent and rigorous! From "Therefore, relying and being comforted already being deep" down: looking up in reliance on the Dharma master, and looking down to comfort deep longings, he cannot repay it, hence he says "surpassing and beyond". "This talent's operation is clear and outstanding, and the tenets are profound and appropriate": the operation of his talent and contemplation is pure, elegant, and outstanding, and the purports are fitting, deep, and agreeable. The Yi says: yun means fitting. The Shangshu says: "Sincerely hold fast to the middle; if the four seas fall into distress, Heaven's emolument will end forever." Kong Anguo's commentary says: yun means sincere. "Investigating the sacred texts, it is subtle yet has a true destination": the Zuozhuan says: wan means indirect. The Shuowen says: wan means compliant. "Sacred texts" refers to Buddhist sūtras. Examining and verifying Buddhist sūtras, what Master Sengzhao composed has an ultimate destination. From "Perusing and savouring it with diligence" down: perusing and relishing it without letting it leave one's hands. From "Truly it may be called bathing the mind in the depths of the Vaipulya" down: this means Master Sengzhao bathed his mind in the waters of the Mahāyāna, and gained awakening by bringing his heart to the ford of the profound and mysterious. Alternatively, Liu Gong himself says: now examining this treatise, it is like this. As for "ford" (jin), the Erya says: jin means the utmost limit. From "If this discernment is allowed to circulate freely" down: "this discernment" refers to the Bore wuzhi lun. Flowing throughout the world is what is meant by "circulate freely". "The many streams of prajñā" refers to the various Prajñā[pāramitā] sections. "It will almost be grasped without words": the character dai has many meanings. The Yi says: dai means discrepancy. The Guangya says: dai means ruin. Zheng Xuan's commentary says: dai means nearly. Master Mao's commentary on the Shijing says: dai means beginning. Here we follow Zheng Xuan. Dai means nearly (ji), and ji means close to. If this treatise circulates throughout the world, then the principle of prajñā will not await words, but can almost be grasped and realized. "Can one not rejoice?": this expresses joy. Stating it twice means great joy. The Guangya says: xin means happiness. "Yet when the principle is subtle, the diction is steep": since the principle is profound and subtle, the wording is perilous and precipitous. As stated earlier: "Knowing is not meant as knowing, in order to penetrate its illumination; not knowing is not meant as not knowing, in order to distinguish its marks. Distinguishing marks does not make it non-existent; penetrating illumination does not make it existent." And also: "Speaking of function, they are the same yet different; speaking of tranquility, they are different yet the same. Because they are the same, it has no mind toward this or that; because they are different, it does not lose its illuminating function." These are all places where the language is steep and precipitous. "The one who sings alone finds few to respond": this means Master Sengzhao sang this principle of prajñā non-knowing, and its literary expression and principle being uniquely exceptional, it was difficult to respond in harmony. As for that matter, Song Yu's reply to the King of Chu in the Wenxuan says: "A guest sang in Ying; at first he sang 'The Lower Village and the Man of Ba', and several thousand people in the capital joined in harmony. When he sang 'The Sunny Bank and Dew on the Shallots', several hundred joined in harmony. When he sang 'Sunny Spring and White Snow', several tens joined in harmony. When he introduced the Shang and Yu modes, intermingling them with the flowing Zhi mode, those who could join in harmony were no more than a few. Thus, the higher the tune, the fewer who harmonize with it." From "Unless one is beyond words and images" down: if someone has transcended words and images, then they have no further doubt; but if one is not such a person, one clings to the text and is mostly obstructed. They claim that prajñā is wisdom, and cannot be non-knowing. "Words" refers to textual expressions; "images" refers to the statements of symbols. From "I thought that the chapter on 'seeking wisdom through conditions'" down: praising the skillfulness in the earlier reply. "Subtle and winding" (wanzhuan) means all the twists and turns are completely resolved. "Nothing left to be questioned" means there are no obstructed or unpenetrated places. From "Yet those in darkness can hardly understand all at once" down: narrating the intention behind the questions. The Fangyan says: xiao means bright. The remaining doubts are as presented in the questions below. "I imagine that in your leisure you may again roughly explain them": the Guangya says: congrong means demeanour or movements. The Guoyu says: xia means leisure. Cu means briefly. However, in texts the characters for congrong are written without the heart radical, but in all editions of this treatise they are written with congrong. As for "explain" (shi), the "Xiaoya" says: shi means to release or solve. The Zilin says: to soak rice. Here, explaining the meaning of the questions is like the soaking and loosening of rice.